Love Hearts
by Georgy-Girl
Summary: A follow on from the last episode- what I would like to happen between Zax. I hope you enjoy, please review!
1. Chapter 1

When Max woke the next morning, he was in a familiar and yet unfamiliar place. Letting his eyes drift open slowly, he soon had a leisurely smile at the sight that greeted him. Zoe was still fast asleep, her hair splayed around her and the duvet pulled up right to her chin. He'd forgotten how she often got cold at night, and that he used to wake up freezing before realising she'd cocooned herself in all the blankets. Pulling his eyes from her reluctantly, he grabbed his phone to prevent the alarm from waking her before he slipped from the bed. Once dressed, he dropped a gentle kiss to her forehead and rested a note on his pillow.

...

Zoe woke with a groan, feeling freezing, but a smile soon lit her face as she remembered the day before. The long, loving kisses and the cuddling. Never before had she and Max sought comfort from each other in that way. It was usually sex, alcohol, or both, but this new way allowed a flower of hope to begin blooming.

That was until she opened her eyes and realised she was alone in bed. Hopefully, she strained to hear noises of Max in the apartment, but when she heard nothing, a sigh of resignation escaped her lips and she slid from the bed. Max's note drifted unread onto the carpet, and was soon stepped on and ripped apart by the heel of an angry Jimmy Choo.

* * *

"Morning! Fingers crossed today isn't as busy as yesterday!" Robyn smiled at Zoe as they passed one another.

Zoe just responded with a sigh as she made her way into the staffroom, frustration soon taken out on the empty coffee jar. Great. Purse forgotten at home, and now someone had used the last of the instant coffee. Her day was just getting better and better.

"How much, on a scale from 1 to 10, would you love someone who is carrying a double espresso right now?"

Zoe turned, eyebrow raised at the smiling voice in the doorway. "Max…"

"Alright, you don't need to answer that, I know how much you struggle with the L word. Just remind the next person who complains about me not working that I'm actually amazing." Max placed the takeaway cup into Zoe's hands, his grin fading a little when she didn't meet his eyes. "Zoe?"

Zoe lowered her voice as another doctor walked into the staffroom. "You left without saying goodbye. I don't know where we stand, and I don't know if I can deal with you ch-" Zoe was cut off then by the same gentle kisses that had lulled her to sleep the night before. "Max-" She attempted as she pulled back, but a finger was placed softly on her lips.

"I didn't want to wake you because you didn't get much sleep the night before, but I did leave a note that would have answered a few questions if you'd looked instead of jumping to conclusions." Max replied.

"Sorry." Zoe offered, lowering her eyes again.

"Why don't I email you the note, you read it, and then we can start this morning again?" Max suggested. When Zoe gave a nod, he pulled the drink from her hands, but when she gave a soft moan he rolled his eyes and passed it back to her. "One sip and then this drink and I are out of here."

…

Zoe drew a deep breath and opened the email. Sat in the quiet of her office, she looked at the photograph of the note that Max had rested on her pillow. He'd taken a photo of her that morning as she slept, a smile on her lips, and she had to zoom in and squint to read the letter.

 _Zoe Hanna, you drunk is both the best and worst thing in the world. Drunk, you admit things you're too scared to say sober, but other times you drink to forget those things, and that's what gets you into trouble. I was so angry and hurt and let down by what you did, but yesterday drunk Zoe made me realise that the reason I've been struggling is not because of what you did, it's because I wanted to talk to my best friend about it, but she's so tangled up in you that I couldn't remember how to find her. Yesterday, I found my best friend again. The person I can rely on, the person I can talk to, the person who knows how to make me happy. I can just about deal with losing my wife, but I cannot deal with losing my best friend. Now the best friend bit is sorted, we just need to work on the wife bit. So, Zoe Hanna, will you marry me? (please say yes, because I've already organised something for our lunch break)._

"How much, on a scale from 1 to 10, would you love someone who is carrying a double espresso right now?" A voice suddenly asked softly from the doorway.

"…Maybe about an 11." Zoe responded.

"Well, I am a very lucky man then, because I just so happen to have a double espresso right here." Max rested it on the desk and gave it a gentle push towards Zoe. As she took a long sip, he studied her, but all she offered was a thankful smile before turning back to her emails. Hoping she just hadn't finished reading yet, Max turned to the door, a grin lighting his face as Zoe suddenly spoke.

"Don't go disappearing into hidden rooms this morning, we have somewhere important to be later, apparently."

* * *

"Dylan?! I thought I was meeting Max." Zoe's footsteps slowed down as she entered the peace garden at lunch time and found only Dr Keogh stood there.

"He'll be here shortly, he just wanted me to give you that." Dylan pointed to the box that rested on the bench.

Frowning, Zoe opened it and a note drifted slowly to the ground. As usual, it went unread because Zoe's eyes were focused solely on the dress she slowly pulled out.

"It's as close as we could find to the original." Dylan offered uncomfortably.

"We?"

"Robyn and I went dress shopping this morning."

"You and Robyn? Dress shopping?! What is going on here?" Zoe asked with a laugh, her eyes still not moving from the dress.

"You're getting married. Properly, this time." Robyn offered as she appeared, dressed in the same bridesmaid dress she had worn the first time around. "No last minute panics, no fire, and definitely no drowning. It will just be you and Max, Dylan and me."

"What about Lofty? Max's mother? He-" Zoe began.

"No last minute panics, remember? Now come on, we need to get you into that dress. Well, when I say we, I mean you and Robyn. I'll wait out here."

"No way, I'm not chancing you going missing." Zoe grabbed Dylan's hand and pulled him towards the building, her heart dancing happily.

…

"Zoe?" Robyn called. Her and Dylan were waiting outside the on call room waiting for the doctor to dress, but the rustling noises inside the room had long since grown quiet. "Zoe?" Robyn repeated.

"I need you to take something to Max."

…

"What are you doing here? Robyn, you shouldn't have left Zoe alone, she'll freak out!" Max stopped pacing when he saw his sister approaching.

"She won't. You need to trust her or there's no point in going through with this, Max. She just asked me to bring you these." Robyn held out her hand, and when Max raised his own she dropped two Love Hearts into his hand. "She said one was in answer to your question, and the other one is what she's going to bring to the marriage this time."

Max's eyes dropped to the sweets in his hands. 'Yes' and 'Just Me.'

* * *

With ten minutes left of her lunch break, Zoe walked down the aisle to the sound of sirens. Well, sort of an aisle. Max had laid down hospital branded sheets in a line leading up to where he stood with a wide smile.

"You look perfect." Max whispered when Zoe finally reached him.

Blinking desperately but failing to stop the tears that were beginning to fall, Zoe attempted a smile back as she noticed the celebrant who stood before them was the woman who had officiated their marriage. "How did you-"

"I'll tell you later. Ready?"

"Ready."

* * *

As Dylan and Robyn rushed to get back to work, Max swept his wife into his arms and carried her over the threshold and into his office. Her face buried in his shoulder, Zoe was emitting a mixture of giggles and tears, and when she was finally placed on the ground she pulled Max close for a kiss.

"That was perfect."

"If only we didn't have to go back to work," Max sighed, stepping back to take off his dress shoes.

"We don't have to straight away…" Zoe offered quietly.

When Max lifted his head, a grin lit his face. Still in her wedding dress, his wife's back was pressed against the door, and between her smiling lips was a love heart.

'Fax me'.

"…Well, it would be silly of us not to consummate the marriage while we have time." Max captured Zoe's lips and pulled her close.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you have any idea how busy we are?! St James' is on black alert, god knows when they'll reopen, and you thought today was the day to take a long lunch break?!" Connie stood with hands on her hips, glaring at the colleague who stood before her.

"Sorry, I was…busy." Was all Zoe offered. Now back in her usual clothes, the only thing that looked different about Zoe was the wedding ring that rested once more on her finger, but she felt completely changed. She felt right for the first time in a long time, and she wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of that feeling.

"I don't have time to listen to your excuses, Dr Hanna. Go and sort out cubicles and discharge or move as many as you can, please." With that, Connie stalked back to resus.

"Congratulations wouldn't go amiss," Max grumbled from behind Zoe, eliciting a wide smile from his wife.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"Alright, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist!" Max smiled, pushing himself away from the nurses' station. "Wait…can you get your knicker's in a twist if you're not actually wearing any?"

"Work!" Zoe pushed him away, still smiling to herself as she walked towards cubicles.

…

Four hours and when felt like hundreds of patients later, Zoe's smile had slipped, but only a little. Though it was busy, it was one of those days when everything seemed to go her way, so as everyone else moaned and groaned, Zoe whistled softly to herself.

"Are you…whistling?" Dylan asked with a frown.

"What? No!" Zoe gave an embarrassed laugh as she tucked hair behind her ear.

"…Well, I heard you do it and I saw you doing it, so if you don't think you were perhaps you should-"

"Why did you ask, then?" Zoe huffed, but before Dylan could reply she'd had rushed away, heels clicking on the floor as she rushed after her husband.

"Did I hear you whistling earlier?" He asked as he backed into the lift with a wheelchair.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?! I don't whistle! I just brought you this." Zoe held out a coffee.

Surprised, Max reached out to take it, his face softening when he saw a Love Heart on top. 'Dream Boy.'

"She was definitely whistling." The patient offered as the doors shut.

"Definitely." Max agreed, a smile on his face.

..

"Robyn, can I ask a favour?" Zoe asked as she walked into the staffroom 10 hours into her shift when there was finally a lull in patients.

"I can't stay for longer, Zoe. My legs are about to drop off!" Robyn groan.

"No, no, not that. I was just…hoping I might be able to borrow your house tonight and tomorrow."

"My house?! Why?" Robyn looked up from her coffee, suddenly feeling a little more awake.

"I just…I want to…" Zoe sighed and it took Robyn a moment to realise the doctor was nervous. "Max and I need to talk properly, and I want to do that somewhere that has no negative memories for us."

"Couldn't you go to a hotel?"

"Yes, but…I'm worried Max will see a hotel as somewhere transient, and I want to have this conversation somewhere homelier. Please. You can use the apartment, and there's money in the box by the TV for a take away."

"…Lend me the car and you have a deal."

"My car? Can you even drive?!" Zoe cried.

"Yes." Robyn supplied, not mentioning the fact she had only just taken her test.

Zoe sighed and shut her eyes for a moment before nodding. "Fine." She dropped the keys in front of her sister-in-law. "But you have to stay away all night and all of tomorrow, and if you get a ticket, you're paying for it."

"Thanks!" Robyn grinned, suddenly feeling a lot better.

…

"Ready?"

Max looked up with surprise from the comic he'd been absently flicking through. "You're done? I didn't think St James was back open yet."

"They're not, but I've worked 3 hours longer than I was rostered to, and now I've told Connie that I'm going home."

"How'd she take that?"

"…Have you ever seen a bull scratch at the ground and blow steam from its nostrils?" Zoe enquired as Max slid a coat over her shoulders.

"Quite well, then." Max laughed. "When you say home-"

"I mean your house. We need to talk, and I want to do that on neutral ground." Zoe offered, her back to Max as she took a deep breath and pushed her phone into her pocket.

"Not really neutral, is it? We-"

"I mean not the place where I cheated on you." Zoe replied gently.

Max was silent for a moment and Zoe shut her eyes even tighter, but just as her shoulders began to tense, hands rested on her hips and lips pressed gently to her neck. "Ok."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I want to thank everyone so much for reading, reviewing and enjoying my stories. As you may know, I was struggling with motivation, and with the loss of Dr Hanna goes what little I had left, so this is goodbye from me. I will attempt to slowly finish my other stories, and I may post occasionally stories written with others, or of different ships that i grow to love, but for now this is the end xx

* * *

Two hours later, Zoe found herself somewhere she never thought she be. Sat opposite her husband at a kitchen table, tears rolling down her cheeks, trying to explain to him who she was. Why she was broken.

Max's arms screamed to hold her, to kiss her, to tell her it was okay, but he knew that to heal she had to get it out. Get it all out.

"And then you arrived. I tried to push you away, I tried to ignore what I felt, but it just kept pushing back, it needed to be felt. But I was terrified. I've been scared for so long that I didn't even notice until it was too late. I just tried to jump before I was pushed. If I hurt you, you could never hurt me. But you did. I slept with someone and the pain it caused you hurt me more than you ever could." Zoe managed, a sob breaking free from her very soul. "So, for the first time in my life I stopped running, I stopped being scared of the future, but the only future I could see was with you."

Unable to stop himself, Max finally reached across the table and took Zoe's hand. He held it tightly, too tightly, but when Zoe finally looked up into his eyes neither of them could feel the pain.

"I love you, Max, and that doesn't scare me anymore."

They stood them, meeting in the middle to hold one another, to offer comfort that only Zoe and Max could give one another. Their tears soon married and their pain finally washed away.

It was similarly entwined that Robyn found them the next evening. Together, one, on the sofa in complete and absolute silence, but both wore a smile on their lips. Unwilling to break that fragile braid that was beginning to form, Robyn slipped from the room unseen. Though Zoe sensed movement and lifted her head, Max gently returned it to its rightful position on his chest, their heartbeats in sync.

….

Life would never be easy for Zoe and Max, but as they grew together, so did their love. What once was two people became one. A perfect, broken soul that could no longer bear to be separated.

Though there was an age gap, with each passing year it seemed to lessen, and when Zoe died, Max was gone within a week.

Legend said he died of a broken heart, Zoe's final gift still clasped in his hand- a love heart.

'Real Love'


End file.
